The Power of Gratitude: Three Unique Blessings I’m Thankful For in 2024
Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Research continues to demonstrate how gratitude is good for you; it improves…
spirituality
How to Make Your Time with God Meaningful, Long or Short
Are you satisfied with how your spiritual life is going? Are you more like Jesus than you were a year…
How to Live Well Even in the Face of Unfulfilled Longings
Perhaps some days start out good. You slept well, the sunrise is lovely, and your coffee tastes great. But sooner…
What Messy Families Tell Us About the Kingdom of God
Family is messy! You don’t get to choose your parents, your siblings, or your extended family. Any parent will tell…
Deep Transformation: How to Become Different from the Inside Out
Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. You’ve probably heard that before. But you may find yourself…
Two Questions God Loves to Answer
God hears our prayers. And there are many different kinds of prayers; intercession, thanksgiving, repentance, asking for needs, spiritual warfare…
How to Pursue Intimacy Whether Married or Single
Your heart craves connection. Humans can’t survive in isolation. The irony is that today we can be more “connected” than…
Why Doesn’t God Deliver Me From This Addiction?
Alcohol. Drugs. Sex. Porn. Gambling. Food. Video games. Nicotine. Social media. We could extend that list to any number of…
Why a Christian Can Expect Both Suffering And Breakthrough
As followers of Jesus we should have the most complete and accurate understanding of reality. We know what’s happening behind…
How People Change: Becoming Who You Were Meant to Be
I’m so glad I’m not like I used to be! I was a seriously messed up young woman. But I’m…
How to Stand Firm and Overcome When Facing Spiritual Opposition
If all it took to experience wholeness were a few good facts in your left brain and a few pleasing…
Friend or Foe: Embracing the Divine Design in Your Body’s Messages
Talk to a Christian about our physical body and you’re likely to get confused. You might hear, “You must take…
From Hurt to Whole: The Power of Making the Choice to Heal
Time alone does not heal all wounds. Healing does not simply happen to you. God rarely “rains” healing down on…
Don’t Rob Your Spiritual Life of the Joy and Wonder of Mystery
What’s the best way to enjoy a spectacular sunset? What are the three steps to knowing you’re in love? Or…
How Your Sexual Story Affects Your Mental Health
We live in an epidemic of mental/emotional health issues. There are many factors involved, and it’s impossible to completely differentiate…
5 Ways Your Sexuality Impacts Your Spiritual Formation
You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t believe God has something to say about sex and sexuality. Depending on…
What’s the State of Your Heart?
Think of someone you love to be around. How would you describe their heart? Chances are their inner being is…
Addressing Sin Issues in Others with Grace and Truth
We humans easily fall into ditches. Trying to be zealous for God’s way of righteousness, we fall into the truth…
Getting God from your Head to your Heart
Some of us (me included) naturally approach life first from the head. We studied hard in school, and when a…
Why Prayer is Not Enough: What to Do When You’re Still Struggling
For the follower of Jesus who is feeling close to Him, the words “prayer is not enough” may seem like…
What’s Unholy About Holy Week?
Don’t get me wrong; I absolutely love Holy Week; I just don’t love “Holy Week.” Perhaps as a shorthand way…
Healthy Ways to Choose Intimacy: It Could be Dangerous
People are messy, and therefore relationships are messy. The closer you get to people the messier it gets. Your heart…
Your Journey to Sexual Wholeness Will Be Opposed
I hear from people every day who are facing opposition on the journey to sexual wholeness. If all it took…
Sex, Love, and Intimacy; How do They Connect?
Sex, love, and intimacy are (or should be) related in some ways, but they’re not the same. Too often people…
Four Big Lies About Sex, Relationships, and Intimacy
Many of the best lies are almost true; they contain just enough truth to give them plausibility. Such a lie…
Beyond the Valley: Moving Forward When You’ve Lost Trust in God
It didn’t require a genius to hear the pain in her words; “I’ve lost trust in God.” If you feel…
Do You Know God in All of These 10 Ways?
What’s your mental picture of God? A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is…
A Birthday Gift for Jesus
A few years ago a friend shared with me an important part of how she celebrates Christmas every year. When…
Caring for Your Body, Mind, and Soul During the Holiday Season
It’s almost Christmas! For some, this is a good season, full of love, joy, anticipation, and connecting with family and…
What to Do About the Three Kinds of Suffering
You are suffering. Surprise! Welcome to the human race. And of course that’s not at all reassuring. Our culture trains…
The Practice of Being Grateful For in a Difficult Season in 2023
The fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. And that’s today! As good-for-the-soul as food, family,…
Five Key Elements in the Process of Becoming Sexually Whole
Many of the people I talk with wish God would just “zap” them from their current state of misery and…
Three Characteristics of Toxic Religion
Do you ever get a queasy feeling when thinking about your church or ministry experiences? OK, you’re “supposed” to connect…
When God-Talk has Brought Pain to Your Sexuality
Love it or hate it, sex is a big deal. God cares about your sexuality, and the Bible has a…
When God Feels Distant: Nurturing Faith in the Absence of Answers
This world is messy and often confusing. How do you handle things when life is difficult? Sometimes you’re not seeing…
The Loneliness Epidemic Got You? How to Find Peace and Connection
You can feel lonely in a crowd or a friendship or a marriage, and you can feel perfectly happy and…
Throwing Down the Idols of Marriage, Singleness, or Parenthood
Relationships are usually complicated. And the church has usually idolized one particular relationship status to the detriment of another. It’s…
Dealing with Lust and Redeeming Eros
Desire is a good thing. As Christian psychiatrist Dr. Curt Thompson says, humans are people of desire. Jesus often asked,…
Why It’s Not Really a Sex Problem
Behaviors matter. Behaviors have consequences. And sexual behaviors especially have consequences. But for those who are struggling here, putting your…
Being the Family of God Whether or Not You Have Earthly Family
Family. Love it, hate it. Want it, can’t stand it. Family is messy because family is made up of, well,…
How Your Relationship Status is Always Complicated
Perhaps the only good thing Facebook has ever done was to allow the relationship status “It’s Complicated.” And is there…
Why Healing from Intimacy Gone Wrong Requires Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a big deal. Your head knows Jesus forgives you, but your heart still wonders, especially when you keep…
5 Ways to Pray When You Keep Messing Up
You mess up. You ask God for forgiveness. Thankfully you’re forgiven! Then you mess up again, and the cycle continues.…
Beyond Bad Behavior: Get From Sobriety to Recovery to Redemption
Every addiction is a whole-person “disease.” The “thing” might be alcohol, pornography, sex, gambling, video games, or a multitude of…
When You’re Not Sure You Want to be (Sexually) Whole
Jesus asked a question we may sometimes think strange. He asked the man who had been lame for 38 years,…
What Were You Even Created For?
If you woke up this morning feeling that everything in your world is better-than-good and you’re fully satisfied, this article…
What You Can and Can’t Expect Church to Do for You
Church was Jesus’ idea. I pray your experience of church has been, is now, and will continue to be wonderful.…
The Lifeline You Need to Grow and Thrive
You are not the source. You can’t be; you’re a creature, a created being. You cannot generate life from within…
Practical Ways to Pursue Intimacy with God
God wants to be wanted. Isn’t that like you? Don’t you want to be wanted? What if your desire for…
The One Most Important Goal to Pursue This Year
Goals, resolutions, commitments, decisions, turning over a new leaf, a blank page – you may have a love-hate relationship with…
